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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — to drill
  9. degree — temperature
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. ground — a position
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. fine — all right
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. fine — high quality
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bore — gave birth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com